Chapter 5 5
The question was sharp. Kasper stopped his hand as he was about to strike me a second time.
"She is the pack slave," Leonard said, waving a hand dismissively. "The stripper wolf. We bought her from a war years back. She’s a Lieu. Nothing but a curse."
Demon stood up. The chair screeched against the stone. The room felt even smaller as he walked toward the stage. He stopped at the edge, looking down at me as I struggled to sit up.
"I want her," Demon said.
The silence that followed was absolute. Leonard’s jaw dropped. My father froze with the decanter still in his hand.
"King Deacon," Leonard said, forced laughter bubbling in his throat. "You can't be serious. She isn't worth it. She’s a mute, a misfortune. Look around. I have dozens of beautiful omegas. I will give you any three of them. Just point, and they are yours. But not her."
"I was not asking for a recommendation," Demon said. He looked at Leonard. "The woman brings misfortune, yet you use her for entertainment? You keep a curse on a stage for your guests?"
"That’s the only thing she’s good for," Leonard muttered. "She’s a toy. Nothing more."
"If you won't give her to me," Demon said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "then forget about the land agreement. And you should be ready for war by sunrise."
Leonard blanched. He looked at the maps on the table, then at his guards. He was a coward at heart; he didn't want a war with the Hollow King.
Suddenly, my father stepped forward. He pushed past Leonard and stood at the edge of the stage, looking up at Demon.
"I... I will give her to you," my father said.
I looked at him, my heart breaking all over again. He didn't even look at me. He was looking at Demon’s boots.
"But you must promise me something," my father continued. "Promise you will take me with you. Promote me to a position in your kingdom. I am a Beta. I have skills."
Demon turned his head slowly. "And who are you?"
"I am her father," my father said, a pathetic smile touching his lips.
Demon stared at him for a long moment. Then, he looked back at me. I was still on the floor, my face bruised, my body shivering in the thin strings of the outfit they forced me to wear.
"Her father?" Demon asked. "And you are standing here watching this happen?"
"An agreement is an agreement," my father said, shrugging his shoulders. "I had to exchange her for my life and my title eleven years ago. It was a business move."
In one fluid motion, Demon reached out. He didn't grab my father; he snatched a sword from the belt of one of his men standing nearby. He leveled the point of the blade at my father’s throat.
"You have no shame," Demon said. "How would you feel if I sliced your throat right now in front of your daughter? Would that be a good business move?"
My father fell to his knees, his hands shaking. "Please! I was only trying to help the negotiation!"
Leonard stepped forward, his hands raised. "King, please! Why do you want her? She is of no use to you. She isn't your mate. A man like you is supposed to be with pure gold, not a woman who performs nakedly for coins."
"And what does that have to do with you?" Demon asked. He lowered the sword but did not sheath it. "I want her as my hundredth mate. That is the agreement. Or there is no land. There is only blood."
Leonard looked at the floor. He looked at the gold he was about to lose. "So... so sorry, King. You can have her. I swear she is of no use, but if that is what you want, she is yours."
Leonard paused, his greed overriding his fear for a split second. "But I need something in return. This slave was expensive to keep. I want the land, and I want twenty gold bars."
Demon didn't even blink. "I will give you forty gold bars for her. On one condition."
"Anything," Leonard said.
"Demote this man," Demon said, pointing the sword at my father. "He is no longer a Beta. He is nothing."
Leonard nodded quickly. "Consider it done. Kasper! Get the chains off her and bring the garment."
The guards moved quickly. The iron collar was unlocked, the cold metal finally leaving my skin. They threw a heavy wool garment over my shoulders to cover my body. I didn't have any belongings to pack. I had nothing but the memories of a family that had been slaughtered and a father who had sold me twice.
Demon walked to the stage and reached out a hand. I looked at his palm. It was calloused and large. I placed my hand in his. His grip was firm, but he didn't pull me. He waited for me to stand on my own.
As we walked toward the doors of the Great Hall, I didn't look back at Leonard. I didn't look at my father, who was now being stripped of his Beta badge by the other guards.
I walked out of the Moonstone pack’s fortress for the first time in eleven years. The air outside was cool, but it didn't feel like the kitchen. It felt like the beginning of a long, cold road. I didn't know if the Hollow King would dump me in seven days like the others. I didn't know if he would kill me when he grew bored.
But as I stepped into his carriage, I felt the weight of the small blade I had hidden in the lining of the wool garment. I had learned to fight by watching them. I had learned to kill by surviving them.
The Moonstone pack thought they were rid of a curse. They didn't realize they had just handed the Hollow King the key to their destruction. I would be his hundredth mate, but I would be the last one he ever needed. And when the time came, I would return for the head of the man who called himself my father.